Angel's Tale
by Oriel
Summary: Mikael takes it upon himself to find the angel who cursed his brother's heart. (chap. 7 FINALLY, sorry ;;)
1. A New Mission

**Angel's Tale** by Oriel

**Rated:** PG-13 for language

**Disclaimer:** 1. This story is based on a RPG that my friends and I started this summer. So, there are some made-up characters which are the property of me. Other than that, AS characters are Yuki Kaori's. 2. I haven't read the last 5 volumes of AS yet. Sorry if there's anything that doesn't really make sense. Keep in mind that this is just FICTION. 3. It's my first fan fiction. My primary language is French, so sorry about the mistakes. 4. I'm not asking for a specific number of reviews, but they would be greatly appreciated, whether you like the story or not. I can accept constructive criticism, but no flames please.

" ": dialogue  
/ /: thoughts

===============================================

**Prologue**

God perished by the hand of Setsuna, the Messiah himself. But that was already millenniums ago.

Even after all this time, Heaven is still pretty much the same. Alexiel finally came back to her original body, just like Jibrille, and has now become the new Great Seraphim (since Rosiel and Metatron are out of the picture. But it's only a lure since Heaven is truly ruled by the High Council, which consists of the 12 Zodiac Angels. They each are magnificent and powerful magicians but they are also easily corrupted. The rest of the angels have mostly remained at the same position in the angelic hierarchy.

The relations between heaven and hell haven't really improved either, even after Adam Kadmon's plea for peace. Both nations are therefore constantly launching minor attacks on each others, which is why Mikael and his men must still patrol the borders.

On the other hand, the material world, Assiah, has greatly changed. The human kind has extended its territory across the universe, thus discovering new civilisations on distant planets. Just like humans and angels, those other species have been created by God a long time ago in his unending quest to create the perfect being. But now, the Creator of all things and his children are only part of the legends and myths told by travellers...

===============================================

**Chapter 1 - A New Mission**

_Here in my heart, memories linger.  
I keep them, sacred, safe from all others.  
Angel..._

He was sitting, motionless, in the cold dark room, staring at emptiness. _Empty._ Everything felt this way to him.

A single word kept echoing through his mind.

/ Why... /

**** 

The sun was slowly rising in the sky, giving it a light shade of gold. At the same moment, in his mansion of Yetzirah, the Archangel of Fire was emerging from a dreamless slumber. He yawned, stretched, rubbed his eyes for a few minutes before crawling out of bed, his frail but nonetheless gracious body still wrapped in the black satin sheets. He sat on the edge, resting his head in his hands, running numb fingers through red tousled hair.

/ I hate mornings... /

He finally stood up and cast his gaze around the room, trying to find something to wear among the various items scattered on the cold granite floor. With a loud sigh, he picked up a black wifebeater, assorted leather pants and heavy boots and pulled them on wearily. He then grabbed his big fire sword and strapped it solidly to his back.

On his way out of his bedroom, he took a few seconds to watch his reflection in the mirror. Crimson hair, amber eyes, small frame and boyish features...

/ I'm supposed to be his twin, yet I look nothing like him... /

Lost deep in his thoughts, he traced the outline of the purple dragon tattooed across his cheek and chest with a shaky finger.

/ Mismatched twins they all say... /

It haunted him constantly, like a half-remembered nightmare, like an old shade that would not be laid to rest, invading his every thoughts and dreams, torturing his heart and soul...

/ No! I can't let myself give in to those feelings now! /

He shook his head furiously as he struggled to regain his composure, scowling and growling angrily to himself.

/ I am _not_ weak. /

In a surge of rage and pain, he threw the mirror to the floor and smiled in satisfaction as it shattered into thousands of silver splinters, its thick wooden frame dislocated in two places.

/ I won't cry. I can't. /

With an insane cackle, he then stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. No time to waste. He had business to do today.

The High Council had contacted him the previous night with a mission: he had to leave for Assiah as soon as possible in order to find out about some mysterious power. The Great Power had argued with his superiors for several hours, claiming that he had better things to do than those pathetic, boring routine missions. But the Council had maintained its decision and Mikael had seen himself forced to accept the mission. He clenched his fists.

/ Fucking bastards! They'll pay for making me waste my precious time! /

He soon arrived in the hangar where were stored the merkabas and other vehicles used by Heaven's Armies. He stood on the tip of his toes as he tried to find his partner throughout the hundreds of engines around him. The fact that he'd been assigned a partner had made him even more frustrated, as it only showed the lack of trust that the Council had for him.

As he was about to lose his patience, he finally noticed a tall figure draped in a brown cloak standing back to him about 50 feet from where he was standing and started to walk in that direction. Upon reaching his partner, he pulled angrily on the cloak. The hood fell down, revealing long silky mahogany hair glistening in the shaded light.

But Mikael didn't pay much attention to it. He was boiling in rage, snarling at his partner. 

"Where the hell were you?"

The woman slowly turned around, her face showing that she was in no way impressed by the short angel's hot temper.

"I was going to ask you the same question. I've been waiting for you for an hour already and---"

"So fucking what? I never asked to go on that mission! And even less to go with YOU, _Alexiel_!"

Alexiel sighed and decided to keep her mouth shut about how she had not really wanted to go with him either.

/ Since we'll have to spend some time together, it's better not to throw gasoline on the fire. /

She bent down to pick up her bag on the dusty floor.

"Let's get this over with then."

****

Alexiel was still shaking as she stood in the middle of the crowded market place with the red-headed angel by her sides. She hated to admit it but he had scared the hell out of her.

They had used a merkaba to go through the portal and transport themselves on the planet Qoraskant where the strange source of energy seemed to be located. It was going to be useful if they needed to travel around.

Or rather it _could_ have been useful.

Much to Alexiel's despair, her partner turned out to be a extremely reckless driver. Had they not just arrived on the planet that he had already managed to crash their merkaba into a huge rock in the middle of a dry, barren desert.

Mikael calmly slipped out of the severely damaged vehicle and examined it for a few minutes then ran off in search of the proper tools.

"Pfft! It's no big deal. I'm sure I can fix that in a jiffy."

Rule #1:

_Never_ trust Mikael when it comes to making repairs.

The Great Power had tried to fix their vehicle for more than an hour...

"Damn thing..."

... to finally lose the last piece of his sanity...

"WORK! I SAID WORK! YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT! WOOOOOOOOOORK!!!"

... and burn what was left of the merkaba to a smoky heap of twisted metal and wires.

For her own safety, Alexiel hid herself behind a rock while a totally out of control Mikael was reducing to ashes everything in his sight, yelling like a psycho on the loose.

"Mikael, please stop this now! We have to go! When our mission will be over, then you can burn things as much as you wish. We have already wasted too much time so---"

The Angel of Fire slowly turned his head in her direction, sending her a cold death glare that nearly froze her blood in her veins. She could feel his firey, murderous aura surround and suffocate her. She gulped.

"Uh, Mikael, I---"

"SHUT THE HELL UP! You're so annoying!"

He brandished his fire sword up in the air and drove it in the sand in one fluid movement. He then rested a hand against its handle, the other one was put on his hip as he bent down, puffing and panting loudly. He suddenly stood up and started in Alexiel's direction, a sadistic yet contended grin pasted on his sweat-coated face.

"You're right. Let's go. The sooner we'll be over with this fucking mission, the sooner I will get rid of _you_."

Alexiel shrugged as she followed the violent one.

/ Well... that's better than nothing. /

****

Mikael diverted his attention from the computer device he was holding in his gloved hands as he felt Alexiel's stare on him. He leered at her.

"Whatcha want? Take a picture, it'll last longer."

He saw her turn her head away, pretending to be busy with something else. With an impatient sigh and quick shake of the head, he went back to his task. He pressed a few buttons and the screen was immediately flooded with several rows of characters and digits. He frowned as he started to analyse the flow of information.

/ I've never really been good at this... damn! /

Yet, after racking his brain for a few minutes, he motioned for Alexiel to come closer to him. She therefore made a few steps in his direction and leaned down above his shoulder to watch the screen, dumbfounded by all those flashing lights and incomprehensible datas. Without much enthusiasm, he pointed his finger at a small building surrounded by a few modern spaceships.

"From what this thing says, the source of the mysterious power is right over there."

Alexiel looked up and stared curiously at the building.

"Argh! Back off bitch!"

He pushed the woman away from him with a soft moan of disgust.

"I can feel your breath in my neck. That's gross!"

Alexiel smirked and rolled her eyes, amused.

"You'll just never change, won't you Mika-chan?"

On that she walked away in direction of the building, leaving the short angel behind her.

"Don't call me that! And wait for me!"

===============================================

(*gaspeth* Here it is, Chapter 1, re-written for the 3rd time, actually the 5th with the French version of it which I re-wrote twice. I guess you could say that I'm a perfectionist. -_-; Well I hope you enjoyed. It's only some kind of introduction to the rest of the story. I can't tell precisely when Chapter 2 will be up. I will try to re-write it BEFORE actually posting it this time. ^_^; **REVIEW PLEASE!** It's the only way I can get better.)


	2. A Strange Illness

**Angel's Tale** by Oriel

**Rated:** PG-13 for language and partial nudity >.>;

**Disclaimer:** Refer to previous chapter. Sorry it took me so long to come up with this chapter. I wrote about three versions of it before I decided to keep this one. Now I got basically the whole story planned out in my head. The other chapters should now come more quickly, depending on the amount of homework I'll have for college. Keep reviewing please!

" ": dialogue  
/ /: thoughts

===============================================

**Chapter 2 - A strange illness**

Violent gusts of wind were shooting down the sand dunes slopes and then slamming into the two angels' faces, merciless, erasing their tracks almost instantly behind them, irritating their eyes and skin. But fortunately for them, it was almost twilight and the desert's temperature was slowly becoming somewhat more bearable.

They had found the source of the mysterious power and, as they were asked by the High Council, had observed it for a while and taken some notes for the Great Angelic Database. Once in possession of this information, the Council will be able to send a guardian angel to look after the bearer of the power. A force such as this one, bending either towards Good or Evil, could greatly affect the fragile balance of the universe. The unexpected death of one of those very few blessed beings could result in chaos and destruction in both the material and spiritual world, thus the importance of keeping them and their environment under the very strict control of Heaven.

Mikael suddenly stopped walking and lifted a hand above his eyes, casting his gaze over the vast sand plains that surrounded them, looking out for the remainders of their merkaba. He growled loudly as icy stiff wind yet again whipped dust onto them. For a moment, his breath was clogged. He coughed, hacked loudly and spat onto the sand.

"We'll never find that damn merkaba. It's too dark. For what's left of it anyway..."

Alexiel stopped short of her partner and watched the sun disappear beyond the horizon line. He was right. It was useless to keep going. They had already been searching for more than two hours, hoping to be able to recover the equipment which allowed them to transport themselves back to Heaven. But to no avail. Her feet were now killing her and her aching body yearned for rest.

"Fine then, we'll stop here. Make a fire, it's going to get real cold soon. Meanwhile I'll try to contact Heaven so that they can send us a rescue team here."

The red-head scratched his head as he examined the miles of barren wasteland stretching out in all directions around them.

"Just how exactly do you expect me to make a fire. There's nothing for me to burn around here."

Alexiel shrugged while taking a transmitter out of her bag.

"How would I know? I thought _you_ were a pro when it came to fires. Maybe I was wrong then..."

"Grr! SHUT UP! Or I'll fucking burn _you_ to a crisp! I'm gonna show you who's the pro!"

The Archangel was still cursing under his breath as Alexiel walked up a sand dune with an amused shake of the head and the communication device in her hand. As soon as she was out of sight, he started searching for something he could use as a combustible material but only found a few pieces of wood, so dry that they disintegrated in his hands. He frowned and tapped his chin with a finger, thoughtfully.

That annoying bitch had challenged him. Now he _absolutely had_ to make a fire before she came back. Or else he'd be forever humiliated.

And suddenly, his eyes lit up and an evil grin appeared on his face.

"Bingo!"

On her side, Alexiel was desperately trying to establish the communications with Heaven, but they seemed to be jammed by a magnetic field of some sort. Distractedly, she looked up at the three silver moons crossing the star-filled sky.

/ I'll try again tomorrow. /

For the moment, she was stuck on this strange planet, in the middle of the desert with one, if not _the_ most violent and elusive angel she knew.

/ There shouldn't be anything to worry about. I can handle his short temper and attitude. /

A nasty smell invaded her nose and snapped her out of her trance. Alerted, she quickly turned around to see a huge cloud of black smoke coming in her direction. She could hardly distinguish the thin silhouette of her partner on the other side. Coughing, suffocating and teary-eyed, she made her way through the smoke screen.

And what she saw then nearly caused her to burst out in laughter.

The vertically-challenged angel stood proudly next to a roaring fire, almost completely naked to the exception of a small piece of cloth tied around his youthful waist, which was barely enough to decently cover his dignity and behind. He was carelessly throwing his clothes, all of them, in the brightly-colored flames. Her eyes became glued to the dragon in all its sinuous curves, highlighting the perfection and strange delicacy of his musculature.

A strong breeze blew up Mikael's loincloth, his ass now swinging in the wind. Embarrassed, he hurriedly placed it back down as Alexiel smirked. He glared at her and rested his soot-stained hands on his sides, securing down the cloth in the mean time.

"Whatcha looking at? You wanted a fire, you got it now! Happy?"

She furrowed an eyebrow mockingly.

"You haven't found anything better to make a fire with?"

Not awaiting his reply, she took off her cloak and handed it to him.

"Here, put this on."

He stared at it for a few seconds, a puzzled frown pasted on his face. He then grabbed it and threw the large piece of fabric into the blazing inferno. They both watched as the orange flames licked the cloth, totally consuming Alexiel's only protection against the cold of the night.

She frowned, helpless, and folded her arms over her abundant chest. The small white cotton dress she was wearing wouldn't be enough to keep her warm. The temperature was now near freezing point. Clouds of condensation puffed out of their nose as they exhaled.

He smiled, flashing his pearly-white set of teeth.

"Bleh. We won't be here for a long time anyway."

"That's what you think. I wasn't able to contact Heaven. Hopefully, the communications will be better tomorrow. Now we better get some rest."

The young man sighed as he sat down on the sand, curling his knees to his chest and burying his head in his arms.

"G'night then."

"You must be cold like this, aren't you?"

She teased him as she too sat in front of the crackling fire, letting its soothing heat scorch her and penetrate her frozen body. He laughed. 

"Pfft, not at all. Never. I'm not a pansy."

But in truth, he found the sand was rather cold. The air around him was cold too. Heck, _he_ was freezing. And the flames dancing in front of him didn't change anything to his situation.

/ Shit. I hate cold. /

And then there as Alexiel who was glancing at him, her lips curled up in a sneer.

/ She can keep dreaming if she thinks that... /

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her voice.

"Are you sure that you're not cold, Mika-chan?"

He shivered and tried to restrain his teeth from chattering.

"D-don't call me that! And I'm not f-fucking cold! I'm boiling hot, c-can't you see?"

Alexiel sighed, got up and sat by his side. He was shaking like a leaf. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and surprisingly enough, he didn't even protest when she pulled his frozen body against her. He looked away, seeing this as a jab to his male pride.

"I am not cold."

She sighed, pushing a tuft of mahogany hair off her face.

"I am."

He looked up at her. His honor was safe. He thus extended an arm around her waist.

"Ok then, but it's only so that you stop bothering me."

Alexiel nodded and yawned, resting her chin in the hollow of his neck.

/ Men are so predictable. /

****

Alexiel awoke as the first rays of light filtered through her eyelids. She slowly opened her eyes and, still laying down on the smooth, cool sand, she tried to take stock of her surroundings.

There was sand as far as she could see. Mikael, half-naked, was curled up against her, back to her, his head buried in his arms.

/ I remember now... /

She sat up and stretched. Bringing her rough, once bloodied hand to her face, she brushed the dust off her pale cheeks. She then again peered down at her sleeping partner, shaking him softly.

"Wake up."

In vain.

She shook him again, harder this time, his head lolling dully as she did so. He winced at her firm grip on his arm.

"Get up, lazy! We have no protection against the sun here. And it should be too long before it beats down on us mercilessly."

But he remained still and silent. Alexiel frowned and rolled him over so that he was now laying on his back. His body was feeble and still numb from sleep and cold. He protected his face with an arm. A soft growl escaped from his throat. She poked him a few times.

"Stop it!"

His reply was barely audible. She got serious again, a glimpse of concern shone in her usually void of emotion eyes. She removed his arm from his face and gasped. His cheeks were bright red, contrasting with the ghostly white of the rest of his face. A white-coated tongue weakly passes over dry chapped lips.

"Mika-chan, are you alright?"

She rested her hand on his boiling forehead.

"Mmmhmmm...."

... came the faint reply.

"What does that mean?"

The Archangel quickly sat up, a hand crisped on his stomach, the other covering his mouth, his face distorted in pain. He gagged.

"URGH!"

Alexiel barely had time to figure out what was happening that already the Great Power was hurling his insides out on the sand, his arms folded around his frail, shivering body. She waited patiently until he was done, rubbing his back to comfort him.

/ So strange... /

He had got sick so rapidly. Maybe he had caught a cold. Then she notice a bluish sting-like mark on the side of his neck. Could it have been an assassin?

/ Impossible! Not here! /

She would have noticed if anyone had tried to approach them anyway. 

/ Then what is it? /

She helped Mikael walk, or rather crawl away from the smelly mess he had made and laid him down on the sand. She kneeled down beside him and allowed him to rest his head on her firm thighs. With the back of her hand, she brushed off a lock of crimson hair clinging to his sweat-coated face. She bent down over him to protect him from the sun which was starting to make the air wave around them.

They had to be rescued, and quickly! They didn't have any water, food or clothes to protect them. At least Mikael was the guardian of the element of Fire, and she didn't have to worry about him suffering from the oppressive heat. But she was afraid that his state would get worst. He could dehydrate himself and die, which would definitely not be a good thing for the universe. It was only a matter of time.

"Hold on, Mika-chan."

Leaving a drowsy and moaning Mikael behind her, she ran up the dune and pointed her transmitter towards the sky, punching a few buttons on the keyboard pad. She prayed so that it would work. After several minutes of unbearable awaiting, she finally got a reply from Heaven and immediately ordered that they sent a rescue team in their area.

When she finally came back, Mikael was mumbling nonsense, his eyes were shut tight and he would flail his arms and legs as if he was caught in a nightmare. She held him protectively against her, his body untensing at her touch. She searched the cloudless sky for any sign of their salvation as the pale yellow sun kept rising higher.

/ Please, come quickly. /

The archangel's eyes rolled back in their sockets as he let out a hoarse breath through half-open mouth. She could feel his pulse getting weaker and weaker by the minute.

She glanced down at his young features and pressed her lips against the purple dragon on his feverish cheek, hoping to get some kind of reaction out of him.

But the Archangel didn't even flinch.

===============================================

(So? What do you think? I know that's probably not how Alexiel really is. But heck, I'm sure she still has a conscience/morals and cares about people.... Anyway. Review please!)


	3. The Hunt

**Angel's Tale** by Oriel

**Rated:** PG-13 for language, partial nudity, mild shonen ai and violence.

**Disclaimer:** Refer to first chapter since it's still unchanged. Besides that, I'm sorry it's taking me so long to update. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to this story. And I don't have much time to work on it. Damn college homework!

" ": dialogue  
/ /: thoughts  
* *: flashbacks

===============================================

**Chapter 3 - The Hunt**

* Next time we meet, we will be enemies, Mikael. *

"NO! ANIKI! I DON'T WANT TO!"

The red-head angel's eyes were wide open in fear, yet he couldn't see anything around him. Neither could he hear the soothing voice of the blond doctor who begged him to calm down. Trapped in a nightmare, he was flailing his arms frantically in the air before finally dozing off from the tranquilliser that had been administered to him. A single tear streamed down his cheek.

/ Please, don't turn against me again. /

****

Mikael's eye fluttered open and darted confusedly about the room.

Pale blue walls, white, shiny floor, spotless ceiling...

/ Where is this place? /

He could hear the steady, rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor near him and the soft whirr of a fan.

/ The hospital... /

As he slowly regained his consciousness, he found out that a tube had been stuck into his nose, bringing him oxygen, and his chest was covered in a multitude of electrodes and wires.

/ Why am I here? What happened? /

He brought a shaky hand to his chest, ripping off the wires and then taking the tube out of his nose. He then managed to put himself in a sitting position, wincing as an arch of pain ran through his body, coursing through his flesh and racing down his spine. He waited a few seconds for the room to stop spinning and jumped out of bed, his bare feet hitting the ground with a muffled thump.

"Where do you think you're going like this?"

Surprised, the Great Power slowly turned his head in direction of the familiar voice.

"Oh, I hadn't seen you."

His best friend, Rafael, the archangel of Wind and Heaven's greatest doctor was sitting on a chair on the other side of the bed, arms folded over his chest, gazing silently at his short friend.

"Whatcha looking at?"

"Mika-chan...?"

With rage glimmering in his amber eyes, the short angel bounced over to the chair with an energy he didn't know he possessed and gripped his friend's collar tightly, threatening him with a clenched fist.

"Don't call me that!"

Rafael just glanced up at him and spoke in a monotone voice.

"Cover yourself up, please."

Mikael peered down upon his own nakedness, his face now flushed in embarrassment as he quickly turned away to cover himself with the white bed sheets, cursing under his breath for not noticing his predicament earlier. Definitely, too many people had got to see that side of him lately. The blonde smirked and stood up, lifting a slender, yet strong hand to Mikael's shoulder.

"Glad to see you're doing better now, Mika-chan."

Mikael froze at the contact of his friend's smooth, warm skin against his own and peered over his shoulder. For a few seconds, a small, honest smile crossed his face, but it soon faded out. The red-head slapped the blonde's hand away.

"Tch, I've always been doing just fine."

Rafael walked over to a desk and picked up a clipboard. He took his specs out of the front pocket of his white doctor coat and pushed them onto his nose.

"Bullshit, Mika-chan! You've been in a coma for a week now!"

"..."

The above-mentioned Mika-chan raised a thin red brow, confusion etched all over his face. The two archangels stared at each others for a few seconds, an awkward silence filling the room. Then all of a sudden, the red-head rolled his head back and let out an insane cackle.

"Nice joke. Haha! Me? The superstar of angels? Unconscious for a week? Pfft! Yeah right!"

He burst out in another fit of mad laughter as Rafael glared at him.

"Alexiel told me you'd been sick---"

The red-head cut him, placing his index finger on his friend's lips.

"Bah, you won't believe the insane babbling of that stupid woman, will you?"

The archangel of wind sighed and rolled his deep blue eyes.

"Furthermore, Mika-chan, when the rescue team brought you here, you were delirious because of a high fever. Then you spent the rest of the week slipping in and out of consciousness."

"Tch, no big deal. I'm fine now. You worry too much."

Mikael stood on the tip of his toes to slap the back of the doctor's head.

"Now get me some clothes, I'm leaving!"

Rafael shook his head softly.

"You're not going anywhere. I still don't know what caused you to be sick."

The short angel gritted his teeth. 

"I said I was FINE AND that I WAS leaving."

With a desperate sigh, Rafael lowered his head in a submissive way. It was useless to argue. Mikael had made his decision.

"Alright, Mika-chan, you win. But just promise you will take it easy for a few days, at least until I am sure that whatever happened to you won't happen again."

Concern could be read in his soft, deep voice. Mikael rolled his eyes and nodded in agreement.

"I'll visit you tonight. Just to make sure you're ok. See you then."

As soon as Rafael had walked off, an evil grin spread across Mikael's face.

/ As if I could actually stay still for more than a few minutes. /

He took his hands from behind his back and uncrossed his index and middle fingers as he cackled with glee.

/ Rafael, my friend. I thought you'd know me better. /

****

The frontier between Heaven and Hell.

A battlefield.

The stench of blood and death all around.

But among the cries of terror and agony, a single scream of joy could be heard throughout the rocky plain.

"MUAHAHAHA! THIS IS GREAT!"

The red-headed barbarian was immersed in his killing spree of demons. Hundreds of them were agonising at his feet. He sat carelessly on one of the corpses, wiping thick, dark blood off the blade of his fire sword with the ripped clothes of one of his victims.

He found it utterly amusing how he was always able to find relief in killing demons. It distracted him, made him forget about his own pain, allowed him to escape the cruel reality that was his. The spill of blood, the scent of death, the terror in an enemy's eyes: those were his own kind of drugs. He just couldn't get enough of it all. Never could he satisfy his lust for blood and vengeance.

/ Who are you trying to fool? /

"SHUT THE HELL UP, FUCKING CONSCIOUSNESS!"

His body, shaking violently with rage, burst into flames, engulfing the remaining demons in the same action. He fell to his knees, his breathing labored and uneven.

/ I know. I won't be able to avoid it all my life. Some day... Eventually... Lucifer... /

"Mikael-sama?"

He turned around to see who had called his name when a hand clutched his arm firmly then twisting it in his back to keep him from escaping.

"Come with me."

Mikael's negative reply was ignored by his mysterious attacker.

Then nothing more than the familiar, coppery taste of blood at the back of his throat...

... and a headache for sure.

****

Alexiel brandished her almighty sword, Nanatsusaya, in the air and chopped two demons' head off in one shot. Blood splashed over all over her. Rafael stood behind her, bemused, as she fought off more demons.

"Where the hell are they all coming from? No matter how much I kill there's always more."

How had she let herself be dragged at the frontiers?

That night, she had simply been sitting at her desk, busy filling out the mission report by herself since Mikael was sick, when Rafael stormed into her office, claiming that the Archangel of Fire was now nowhere to be found and had assumed that he was either with her or had gone demon hunting at the border. Knowing that fighting wasn't really the doctor's thing, she had kindly proposed to help him.

But now he was just letting her do all the work!

"Rafael! Snap out of it and help me!"

The archangel of wind mumbled a faint apology and drew out his own sword, its silver blade shining dully in the dim moon light. Gathering his strength, he formed a wind shield around them to push the demons back. He then charged at one of them, digging his sword into the frail, deformed body, jumped on another one, slicing him in half.

AS they finally got rid of all the demons around them, Alexiel kneeled down beside one of the corpses, examining it carefully.

"How... strange!"

Rafael furrowed a blond eyebrow and walked up to the woman. He bent down, using his sword to support his weight.

"What is?"

"Those demons are not the usual lower-class demons we see around here."

Seeing that he wasn't replying, she glanced up at him, seeing nothing but confusion on the man's face. She sighed.

"They are high-class demons."

Rafael's eyes grew wide in surprise. He peered up at the bloody mess of corpses around them and cursed himself for not noticing that all of them bore the same black mark somewhere on their bodies. A mark he knew all too well.

"And there, look!" 

There in a poodle of blood was Mikael's precious fire sword. But its owner was nowhere to be seen. Surely, something had happened to him. He would always bring it everywhere with him. He never parted from it.

He stood up quickly, pulling Alexiel onto her feet in the same action.

"Quick! We have to go to Sheol! I have a feeling that Mikael is there. And that he's in danger."

===============================================

(That's it. Sorry for the cliff-hanger again. But I'm telling you now: it's going to happen a lot. ^.^; Gomen ne, but I have to make sure you'll want to read more. Also, it might seem as though some stuff happen for no reason, but just be patient. You'll see... Chapter 4 and 5 should be posted soon since I've almost finished to write them already. I just lack time because I got so much homework in college! **Keep the reviews coming!**)


	4. Hell's Sorrow

**Angel's Tale** by Oriel

**Rated:** PG-13 for language, partial nudity and violence

**Disclaimer:** Refer to first chapter since it's still unchanged. Yes I know that most Satans are supposed to be dead. I don't feel like creating new ones. Therefore, let's just pretend they somehow revived. v.v; And for simplicity's sake, let's refer to Mad Hatter as "she".

" ": dialogue  
/ /: thoughts

===============================================

**Chapter 4 - Hell's Sorrow**

Sheol.

The seventh and lowest layer of Hell. Nothing but desolation : sulphurous ground, rivers of lava, craters belching out columns of thick ash and smoke, . And still, many exiled demons and fallen angels had seeked shelter and still lived in this place so far from the Heavens that no light can ever reach it.

Then somewhere in the distance, as if carried by the wind, a melancholy whisper which no one seemed to hear echoed through this hostile, desolate landscape.

_"I remember... Angel..."_

****

Rafael had literally dragged Alexiel to Sheol, fighting off all the demons who had there blocking their path with a courage and determination which highly surprised the woman.

/ Mikael must be very important to him... /

The two angels had crossed Lethe, a beautiful river set like a misplaced jewel in the midst of this wild and arid scenery and whose water was said to have the ability to erase all memories. They now stood at the entrance of Astaroth's labyrinth, both looking miserable, soaked in blood from head to toe, tired and suffocated by the indescribably hot air.

Alexiel cast her gaze upon the Fortress of Dis, the residence of Lucifer and his Satans, standing proudly in the middle of the maze with its multitude of towers soaring toward the sky.

"Are you sure that Mikael is there?"

The doctor nodded quietly.

"How are we possibly going to make our way through this?"

The other sighed in discouragement and shrugged as a stiff, surprisingly cold wind blew in their backs, sending shivers down their spine and their hair flying forward past their eyes.

"Simple. Just follow one."

The two angels' eyes grew wide in astonishment and simultaneously withdrew their swords, prepared to stage a blood bath and combat. They searched around for the owner of the voice but saw no one. Shadows moved around their feet like serpents, gathering in one spot in front of them and slowly forming the androgynous body of the well know Jester of Hell. She stepped toward them and bowed politely.

"Please allow one to welcome you to the Damned Lands of Sheol."

Rafael cringed from the sight of the Mad Hatter, the one who had caused him to lose his innocence and started his aversion for women. Her short, wavy, red hair was almost entirely concealed under a oddly-shaped hat. A lustful butterfly could be seen on her left leg through the slit of her long black skirt.

"One is pleased to see you both again after such a long time."

Rafael tightened his grasps on his sword and gritted his teeth.

"No time for this, where is Mikael? I know you kidnapped him. We saw your emblem on those demon's bodies."

The Mad Hatter broke out in a fit of laughter.

"That's very smart of you, Rafael-sama. Indeed, one has brought Mikael-sama here."

Her black, mischievous eyes suddenly lost their manic fervor. There was a faraway look in them.

"One thought the sight of Mikael-sama would cheer up one's Master and take him out of the trance-like state he's been into for so long now."

Alexiel frowned.

And Rafael fumed, a frightening, dark aura surrounding him.

"Mika-chan is NOT some kind of buffoon!"

"One knows this very well. But one had to try anyway. If one's Master doesn't get better, one is afraid that Hell will slowly fall apart. Look around and see for yourself the anger of one's Lord."

The two angels peered around them quietly. Since neither of them came around here very often, they couldn't really tell whether Hell was dying or not. It seemed to them as though the Inferno was in its natural state of devastation. But there sure was this all-around, eerie feeling, as if something bad was about to unfold.

The doctor shook his head in impatience and emphatically shooting death glares at the Mad Hatter.

"This is none of our concern. Now release Mika-chan."

The genderless clown calmly brought a gloved hand to the coal black python she was carrying on her shoulders, stroking its head gently as her lucious, blood red lips curled up into a faint, delighted smile.

"Of course. Since it seems that you have given yourself all this trouble to get here, please follow one to the Fortress."

Rafael thought for a few seconds whether they should trust the Satan or not. It could be a trap.

/ I don't care. I will bring Mika-chan back to Heaven safely at all price. /

Without further notice, the fallen angel turned her back on them, now facing the Fortress of Dis. She arched her slender arms in the air gracefully as she started to recite a magic spell. A whirlpool slowly appeared in front of them and swept her in completely. As the two angels stared silently at each others, a hand extended itself from the middle of the portal, inviting them to walk through.

Alexiel sighed and glanced back at her friend.

"We have already made all through here, we might as well continue, what do you think?"

Rafael nodded in agreement.

"All I know is that I'm not going back without Mika-chan."

On those words, the two unfurled their blood-stained wings and flew across the portal. It closed after them in a ear-tearing noise as an evil laughter rang through the plains of Hell.

****

The Mad Hatter had been dragging Alexiel and Rafael around the Fortress, going from room to room restlessly for now more than an hour. Everything in this citadel was so dark that even the dim light of the candles scattered around the place seemed to be absorbed by the shadows. The floor, walls and ceiling were all made of black granite. They could feel an icy, rhythmic breeze, chilling their skin despite the overwhelming heat. It gave them the unpleasant feeling of someone breathing down their necks.

The two angels were both extremely tired and irritated by the Mad Hatter's little game. Yet they continued to follow her, swallowing their anger, repressing the urge they felt to pin the genderless clown against a wall and make her regret abducting their friend.

As they entered yet another room, this one bigger and darker than the others, Rafael finally lost his legendary patience and cut the jester off in mid-sentence as she was about to spout the usual presentation speech.

"Quit messing with us now! Release Mikael, NOW!"

The Satan chuckled softly.

"My, my! One was just getting there, my dear. One simply thought you would have enjoyed visiting the Fortress before going on to more serious business."

Alexiel rolled her eyes and shook her head, long strands of brown hair flowing voluptuously about her. She had a gut feeling that the Great Power wasn't about to get out of this place. Furthermore, the aura this room gave out was so dark it was as though the dark energy it was filled in was suppressing all the good vibes.

The two angels shot their heads back as a muffled cry followed by a loud thumping sound was heard behind them. As their eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness, they clearly distinguished the small, delicate frame of the Angel of Fire, struggling fruitlessly to free himself from his bonds.

"Mika-chan!"

Rafael ran to Mikael and kneeled down beside him, quickly proceeding to untie the short, infuriated angel from the chains that kept him dangling from the high vaulted ceiling like a vulgar rag doll. He had also been gagged and had a huge concussion on his forehead. Moreover, the mysterious sting mark on his neck was still very apparent, though diminished in size.

As soon as he was completely extricated from his chains, the fiery red-head charged at the jester only to be held back by Alexiel, flailing his arms and vociferating.

"FUCKING SCHEMING BITCH! WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?"

The Mad Hatter watched, smiling contentedly as Mikael yanked free of Alexiel's tight grip and directed his anger at the taller woman.

"YOU DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME, WOMAN!"

The jester then turned around quietly and walked further into the room. Now completely hidden in the darkness, a hand placed over a heart which beat only for the one she called her Master, she bowed deeply to the person who sat there, motionless, observing the scene in a distant silence.

"Lord, did you enjoy spending some time with your brother?"

Mikael froze right in mid-sentence and peered into the darkness, his heart pounding in his chest, his mind racing.

/ Aniki? Aniki is there? /

They all stodd silent in the middle of the room, waiting for a reply from Lucifer which, unfortunately for Mikael, never came.

"... One takes it you didn't enjoy."

Those few words hit Mikael like a sledge hammer on the head. He felt his heart stop, break into thousands of pieces.

/ Aniki... Aniki doesn't like me? /

He rasped, choking on the lump in his throat and fighting back the burning tears pricking at his already misty amber eyes.

Alexiel and Rafael watched a childlike Mikael silently, both wishing they could hold him in their arms and comfort him, hold him together to keep him from crumbling.

Within the shadows, the Mad Hatter's neither male nor female voice was heard.

"It doesn't matter. One has another present for you."

An evil smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Alexiel, the Organic angel, for you."

Alexiel gasped quietly.

/ So this was the trap? /

Her hand quickly reached for her sword as she did not intend on letting herself be captured so easily.

But Mikael stood up between her and the spot were his brother and the Satan were hiding. His eyes had a strange lustre to them, a glow that had not been seen since the day he had to cast his brother out of Heaven.

"Time has come for us to settle the scores, aniki."

===============================================

(The story will get more intense from this point. But unfortunately, Spring Break is over now so I couldn't tell you exactly when the next chapter will be posted. It's already written (so is the sixth) but I need to correct and proof-read, re-written, edit some more and... ;_; Reviews help me work faster. *tsk tsk*)


	5. The Darkest Secret

**Angel's Tale** by Oriel

**Rated:** PG-13 for language, partial nudity and violence

**Disclaimer:** Refer to first chapter since it's still unchanged.

**Random comments:** End of chapter comments will be here from now on. I'm truly sorry it took me so long to come up with this chapter. I've been _extremely_ busy with college. ;_; But I'm on vacation now, FINALLY! Also, this chapter is a VERY important one for the rest of the story. I wanted to take my time and make sure it was perfect. Keep the reviews coming! You know I love them.

" ": dialogue  
/ /: thoughts  
* *: flashbacks

===============================================

**Chapter 5 - The Darkest Secret**

Earlier that day, Mikael had been knocked unconscious and tied up in the middle of this dark, seemingly empty room. Never had he suspected that his twin brother, Lucifer, had been watching him all this time.

/ Why didn't you say anything to me? Aniki? /

Long ago, Mikael was already invisible to his brother's eyes, no matter how much he struggled to catch his attention, to get closer to him the way they used to be in the very beginning... But his brother's harsh words, his bitter-sweet voice still echoed in his head.

* "Next time we meet, we shall be enemies, Mikael. I'll be looking forward to that day." *

/ That's right... /

How he had wished for this day not to ever come. Broken, driven insane by the mere thought of having to face his twin again in another duel, knowing that only one of them shall win. There would be no going back after that. Nothing would ever be the same again. Even now, the archangel still wished that he could run away.

/ But there's no avoiding it anymore. /

While keeping a concerned eye on his best friend, Rafael unstrapped Mikael's huge Fire sword from his back and handed it back to its rightful owner. Alexiel and he then quietly stepped back into a corner, staying out of the way. Even though both wanted to fight alongside with Mikael, they also knew very well that this fight was not theirs.

Mikael walked up into the shades and took a fighting stance, amber eyes flaring angrily. He twirled his sword with a flick of his wrist.

"Come on! Get up and fight me bastard! I'm ready!"

The red-head was snarling and growling but it was obviously not enough to convince Lucifer to move from his seat. Upon yet again being ignored by his brother, the short angel burst into another fit of rage. Orange, blazing flames engulfed the room in their suffocating heat. Rafael quickly created a shield of wind to protect himself and Alexiel from what would have otherwise been their certain death.

As the fire disappeared, Lucifer and the Mad Hatter now appeared in full sight in front of the three angels. They had not even been burnt. The jester still stood beside her Master's throne, a mischievous smile pasted onto her over-painted face. As for Lucifer, his cold, steel grey eyes were set in front of him, staring past them at nothing particular. Long, ebony hair flowed freely about his shoulders. The crimson tattoo below his left eye contrasted to the milky white of his flawless skin and ironically reminded of tears of fire.

Mikael bounced in front of his twin and swayed his sword in his general direction, faking a blow in an attempt to get some kind of reaction. The sword stopped short of Lucifer's neck but the man didn't even bat an eyelid. Mikael could easily have killed him at this time but he found himself unable to move, paralysed by fear. His hands were shaking with restrained anger and humiliation and he huffed loudly.

* "Don't bother. You're no match with me, Mikael." *

"DAMN YOU! WHY DID YOU BETRAY US? WHY DO I HAVE TO FIGHT YOU?"

The sword fell to the ground with a ringing clatter. Mikael rushed forward to grip the front of Lucifer's attire and swung his fist at the fallen angel's face. But much to everyone's astonishment, Lucifer snapped from his stupor, his hand flying up to capture his brother's fist in his palm. He then crushed the slim fingers mercilessly in his hand, earning a muffled whimper from the angel. A soft chuckle rose from his throat as he slowly lifted his eyes upon his brother.

"Mikael..."

Tears of pain and rage were flowing down the angel's face. The emotionless voice of his beloved brother sent shivers down his spine.

"You and I will never be on the same side. Never."

Lucifer released Mikael's fist and narrowed his eyes. The angel fell down to his knees, trembling. His voice, barely more than a whisper, betrayed his pain and inner turmoils.

"But why not?"

"We are enemies Mikael. Our fates have been decided long ago. And nothing will ever change this. Nothing. ...unless..."

A spark of hope ignited in Mikael's eyes as he heard those words. He lifted his gaze to meet his brother's.

"Unless...? Unless what?"

"Unless I find the angel who's the cause of my demise."

Mikael frowned and peeked at Alexiel who still quietly observed the scene from afar. Lucifer's smirk echoed through the room.

"Not her. I had already fallen long before I met Alexiel. No, I'm talking about the one angel who made me who I am now. She is the one I must find and kill in order to end the curse she has placed on me. Then, we will be united as brothers again, Mikael."

This unexpected confession seemed to surprise everyone, the Mad Hatter included. Mikael frowned, his face etched with confusion.

Feeling as though further explanations were needed, the dark lord took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The words spilled out of his mouth, painful, like blood spills out of a deep wound.

"As you know already, Kami-sama... His greatest desire was to create the perfect being. All of us were born into this world as a result of his numerous experiments. I used to be considered to be one of his most flawless creation. In truth, I was born as pure and devoid of sin as everyone else."

/ Yes, I remember... Aniki's smile was always so bright... /

"One day, as I was still young, He confided a secret to me. And even to this day, I am still the only one to know about it. This secret was that He had achieved the perfect being. She was a eight-winged angel, one more wing than He Himself, who surpassed everyone in beauty and powers. He had thus named this angel Bashia, the Daughter of God. She was His greatest pride yet He confined her to a secret chamber in the tower of Etenamenki, where she was supposed to be safe from all outside influences that might spoil her perfection."

Alexiel stepped forward.

"That's ridiculous! Never in my life have I heard of such an angel! Are you sure she even exists? Maybe God only tried to trick you."

Lucifer once again stared into the dark horizon through half-closed eyes. For a few seconds he almost seemed to be lost deep in his thoughts.

"Of course I know that she is real. I've met her, several times, even though He strictly forbid me to. He should have known better than to tempt me."

Lucifer's eyes now glistened with red bloodlust. He clenched his fist around the arm of his throne, his nails digging into the dark ebony.

"She poisoned my soul with foolish jealousy and pride and then filled my crushed heart with eternal darkness and hopelessness. When Kami-sama found out that I had met with her, He separated her body and soul. He hid her empty shell in Etenamenki, and cursed her soul to go through eternal reincarnation, just like Alexiel. She could be anywhere now."

"I'll find her! I'll bring her back! I promise you with all my heart."

/ Because my only wish is to make you happy, aniki. /

Lucifer stared down at Mikael, somehow amused by his rock-hard confidence. He then lifted a hand to rest it on top of his brother's red-head, closing his eyes once again. The blurred image of a young girl with long, golden hair flashed in Mikael's head, filling his vision completely. He concentrated very hard on this image, carving it into his memory. But the task wasn't exactly easy since it had several blank, undefined spots, just like an undone puzzle.

With one final ruffle of crimson hair, Lucifer took his hand off Mikael's head.

"Unfortunately, this is the best I can do. It's been so long..."

"It doesn't matter, aniki. I'll find her anyway, even if I have to travel across the universe."

/ Yes, I'll do anything. /

Mikael slowly stood up, smiling one last time at his dear twin before joining his rather confused and surprised friends. The doors of the room opened up by themselves to let the angels out.

Once they were out of sight, the Mad Hatter peered down at her Lord questioningly, her mahogany eyes studying him carefully. The man showed no more signs of emotion. His pale blue lips were pursed tightly. His eyes were still locked onto nothingness, or perhaps on something that only he could see.

/ Is it because of this angel that one's master has not been himself lately? /

She knew there was just more to the story than Lucifer let slip.

"Do you think he'll find her, one's Lord?"

"No. Never."

/ He won't allow it. /


	6. Blind Faith

**Angel's Tale** by Oriel

**Rated:** PG-13 for language, partial nudity and violence

**Disclaimer:** Refer to first chapter since it's still unchanged. Of course, Bashia is my OC.

**Random comments:** I've been busy and rewrote this chapter about three times. It's still not perfect but the best I can do. Lots of blah blah, not much action yet. Sorry about that. I've got to develop the plot. ^_^; Well enjoy and keep reviewing.

" ": dialogue  
/ /: thoughts  
* *: flashbacks

===============================================

**Chapter 6 - Blind Faith**

Mikael rushed into his mansion, cursing viciously beneath his breath. The guards standing on each side of the door stepped back as they saw him approach. The Great Power was reputed throughout the Heavens to get extremely violent at times and for the damnedest reasons or none at all. Either way, they just knew better than to get in his way when he already seemed to be pissed.

As he finally reached his bedroom, he threw himself on top of his large bed. He held a silver box against himself with a certain nostalgia. With the greatest care, he rested it down onto a fluffy, black silk cushion before him and lifted a slender hand to reach inside his shirt, pulling out a small silver chain that dangled loosely around his neck. At the tip of it, a small key reflected the dim light of the fire in the fireplace.

/ Aniki... /

The red-head placed the key into the lock of the box with a surprising gentleness and turned it with the flick of his wrist until a soft click was heard. He lifted the lid with a certain apprehension, his heart beating faster inside his chest as a pile of crippled, torn pieces of paper was revealed to him. On very top of the pile laid the picture of two young angels: one with black hair was barely a teenager; the other one with red hair was still a kid. Both were smiling, radiant in their child-like innocence.

/ Why did you stop smiling? /

He stared at the picture for a moment and then put it aside, still ever so carefully. He reached into the box again and picked up a handful of envelopes and sheets of paper, holding them cautiously for fear that they would disintegrate under his touch. Words were scribbled on them, the handwriting obviously one of a child.

They were letters.

Hundreds of letters, each containing the secret of his very weaknesses. Hundreds of letters he has addressed to his beloved brother. Hundreds of letters whom Lucifiel had never received, nor had he ever head about.

They were untold secrets of denied love and unconditional admiration.

The very secret of his heart and soul.

/ Secret letters you will never read. /

With a loud sigh, Mikael put everything back into the metallic box, locked it and placed it on the bedside table with the same great care. With a loud sigh, he then allowed himself to fall back onto his bed, burying his head into a pillow to muffle the sound of his cries and wipe away the shameful tears as they fell.

/ I'll find her so you can smile again. /

He wanted to deliver his brother from the curse of the angel Bashia with all his heart but the truth was that he had absolutely no idea where to start. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. He clenched his fist and punched a pillow with all the strength his boiling anger inspired him. As a result, the air is filled with downy feathers that float about, showering him completely.

"Dammit!"

He let out another choked breath as he remembered how Rafael and Alexiel had scolded him all the way home, calling him foolish for believing his brother's story. They claimed that surely it was some kind of evil plot, a trap set to lure the gullible archangel of the flames into serving the Dark Lord of Hell for whatever reason he had in mind.

But Mikael trusted his older twin brother completely. He felt has though he had absolutely no reason not to.

"How can they say that about him? They don't know him like I do."

They had laughed in his face when he had said that he would find her even without their help if need be. Now he just couldn't help but take this offence as yet another challenge to his dignity.

"I'll show them how wrong they were to patronise me so."

He wiped his tears with the back of his hand and sniffled a couple of times. It was once again time for him to hide his fragile interior behind the cold facade. He then turned over to lay onto his back, closing his eyes and pinching the arch of his nose between his thumb and index finger, thus appearing to be deep in his thoughts.

/ Ok Mikael, there just _has_ to be a way to find this angel... She's a eight-winged angel being, caught in the wheels of human reincarnation. She must therefore give off a good amount of astral power just like... /

His amber eyes suddenly grew wide open and shone again with hope. Mikael sat up in his bed, his face etched with utmost satisfaction.

"Bingo!"

****

Heaven's Archives contained the largest source of information in the whole Creation. Incredible amounts of data were stored there, whether in printed, electronic or holographic forms. The information was so accurate and unbiased that it contained even the Dark Scriptures such as the Book of Doom, Hell's equivalent of the Holy Bible. Angels used the carefully organised data to aid in their studies or their missions.

Mikael penetrated into the main hall of the building. The chamber was almost deserted with the exception of the caretakers of the records and a few scholars. He therefore made his way completely to the back so that he wouldn't be bothered during his searches. After all, if anyone knew he was doing this for his brother, he could be accused of high treason to Heaven.

The red-head slumped down onto a large, wooden chair set in front of a computer interface. He then cracked the knuckles on each of his hands and wiggled his fingers over the keyboard before starting to type, requesting for all data concerning the strongest source of energy. He bit his bottom lip nervously as he waited for the computer to perform the search throughout the Great Angelic Database. After a few seconds, a message finally flickered on the screen.

-- Searched Database for "Assiah, greatest power source". Showing results 1 - 20 of about 1,970,043. --

"Shit..."

Mikael frowned and ran his hand through his hair in complete desperation. He didn't expect the search would end up with such a great number of possibilities. With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. His mind raced frantically to find a solution to his new dilemma.

/ What can I do now? Checking up on each of these beings could take me millenniums and I'd probably never find her anyway. /

His thoughts were disturbed when he felt the weight of a hand upon his shoulder. The red-head jumped up with alarm, eyes wide open in fear to have been caught. His hand quickly reached for the keyboard and closed the search window. He cursed himself mentally for not being more on his guards, the events from earlier that day should have served him as a lesson.

Mikael slowly turned his head towards the presence he felt in his back. As his gaze met with the familiar face, he bounced off his chair and exploded, flailing his arms in the air.

"Ugh! You! What are you doing here?!"


	7. The Concealed Angel

**Angel's Tale** by Oriel

**Rated:** PG-13 for language, partial nudity and violence

**Disclaimer:** Refer to first chapter since it's still unchanged. Of course, Bashia is my OC.

**Random comments:** Waaa! It's been so long since I updated this! Gomen ne. Blame the writer's block of d00m I've been experiencing since June. -_-; I just wanted this chapter to be perfect since some of the information revealed here will act as a pillar, sustaining the entire structure of this story. I added a comic relief so that it wouldn't be too boring. *shrugs* Dare I still ask you to review this chapter? *puppy dog eyes*

" ": dialogue  
/ /: thoughts  
* *: flashbacks

===============================================

**Chapter 7 - The Concealed Angel **

Mikael's face instantly twisted into a disgusted frown as a slender finger gently brushed against his lips, imposing silence. He remained stunned by the feathery touch for a few seconds, amber eyes silently conveying the deep ire rising within himself. He finally stepped back in a quick, jerky motion and repeated his last sentence with indignation, though more quietly this time.

"What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were with that other traitor, Rafael."

Alexiel rolled her eyes subtly as she pushed a strand of mahogany hair behind her ear. Her stance clearly showed that she was annoyed by Mikael's harsh behaviour and that she had no intention of allowing his belligerence to continue much longer. 

"I only came here to help you."

Mikael snorted and folded his arms over his chest in a casual gesture.

"Tch, a few hours ago you said I was crazy to believe my brother and now you say you want to help! What's the big ol' deal?"

"I simply changed my mind. And so did Rafael."

"_Why_?"

By the tone of Mikael's voice, Alexiel could tell that he wasn't buying it at all. Of course it sounded suspicious but she just couldn't tell him that she and Rafael had decided to help him so that they could keep an eye on him, thus hopefully preventing him from eventually getting into trouble. She observed the red-head carefully. He stood silently, piercing her with his glare, impatiently awaiting some kind of plausible explanation to satisfy his curiosity.

"Well you know, they say only fools don't change their minds," she blurted out with a shrug. "Just let us help, alright?"

Before Mikael could add a word to this, she pulled herself a chair beside his so she could have a better view at the computer's interface.

"Let's see what you've got here... anything concluding so far?" 

The guardian of Fire sighed. It seemed as though she was clearly determined to impose himself on her, whatever her reasons were to want to help him. He knew it was simply useless to argue with her, since she was about as stubborn as he was. And besides, he didn't have any time to waste now with such trivial matters. It could wait. Defeated without even pulling a fight - a first for him-, he sat back down onto his chair, half-reluctantly, and pointed to the screen with a shake of the head.

"I thought Bashia might have been listed in the Great Angelic Database, so I searched for the greatest sources of power on Assiah. But I came up with nearly two million matches."

As he explained his problem to her, he typed up the same exact request as earlier for her to see. Alexiel leaned over in her seat and narrowed her eyes. She examined the impressive list of data for a long moment, frowning and mumbling under her breath. Mikael, beside her, simply frowned and sporadically glanced from the screen to the woman, growling in a mix of impatience and despair. Then without a word, Alexiel took a hold of the keyboard and pressed a few buttons.

"Look, notice they all have one thing in common? The amount of astral powers they possess, which is also abnormally high, is always the same, and the source is always unknown. It could only be a coincidence. But it could also mean that they are in fact the reincarnations of the very same angel. And since, still to this day, Lucifer and the Creator were the only ones to know about the existence of Bashia, I guess it would be more than normal that the High Council couldn't think of her as the origins of these astral powers."

As she exposed her reasoning, a grin of utter satisfaction and excitement dawned upon Mikael's face. He felt they had just finally put their fingers onto the truth, that he was getting closer to his goal with each word that she uttered.

"Yeah! Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"

Alexiel couldn't help but smile too, even though something, maybe the possibility that Lucifer might have told them the truth, still bothered her. She was just glad she had been useful to Mikael.

"If the mere thought of my lips touching yours didn't make me so sick... I would probably kiss you!" the short angel added as he stood up and started an impromptu victory dance.

/ Oh well, that's probably as close of a 'thank you' as I'll ever get with him... / Alexiel furrowed her brows at the dancing archangel and pasted a sheepish smile upon her face. It soon faded into a perplexed frown as she scrolled to the bottom of the list. The red-head froze as he noticed this sudden change in her attitude. He peered down into her eyes, his eyes prying her not to announce a bad news.

"What's wrong?"

"I wanted to see where Bashia's reincarnation had last been located in the universe, but it seems as though there has been no data about her in the past fifteen years... as if she and all traces of her existence had completely vanished."

Mikael's head dropped down as his hopes were shattered once again. Unable to contain the rousing anger within himself any longer and much to Alexiel's dismay, he broke into yet another tantrum, shouting colorful strings of vicious curses while flailing his arms and stomping the floor with his feet. It only then took a few seconds for the old archive keeper to appear behind him, crippled hands on each side of her waist, a decrepitly menacing smile smothering the wrinkled features of her face.

"Silence in this establishment, please!"

Rule #2:

_Never_ piss Mikael off when he's already infuriated. Or else fear his wrath.

"Shut up old grandma! We're fucking busy here can't you see? Don't you have some goddamn knitting to do or something? Leave us the hell alone! Don't you fucking know who I am, bitch?"

Even though Mikael was surrounded by a fiery, almost murderous aura, the austere archive keeper didn't even flinch. Instead her face took a deep crimson shade, to match Mikael's hair, and made her way over to the raging angel who was totally obnoxious to what was to come. Without hesitating, she grabbed him firmly by his left ear and started to escort him out of the Archives building while uttering a long and boring lecture on the importance of silence a public area such as this one. Alexiel casually closed the search window and followed closely behind them.

"... and I shall not tolerate any loud and dirty mouths in this library, young man."

At this point, Mikael's brain was completely overloaded and had stopped processing the information. He stared blankly at the lady, his eye twitching from time to time. Alexiel, fearing that her dumbfounded friend would explode in anger and confusion and destroy half of the place, wrapped her arm around the red-head's shoulder and started to walk away with him, addressing an apologetic smile to the lady.

"Sorry for the ruckus he caused. It won't happen again."

/ Were is Kamael when you need him? /

****

Mikael, who'd already recovered his normal brain functions, was now brooding in the shades of a large oak tree near the Archives, legs curled into his chest and chin resting on top of his knees. Alexiel stood up and glared down at him. 

"Do you have any idea of the trouble you once again almost put us in?"

"Obviously... not at all."

He smirked but stopped as he noticed the disapproving look on her face. Unable to sustain her stare, he simply shut his eyes.

"Damn, how am I ever going to find Bashia now? She can't just have fucking disappeared like that..." 

Alexiel was able to notice in his voice the hint of hopelessness that he was fruitlessly trying to hide. She remained silent and plopped down beside him. She ran her fingers through silky blades of grass as the few sun rays that filtered through the thick foliage of the tree caressed her visage and embraced her with their warmth, and let her mind wander in desperate search of an answer to Mikael's question.

"Hm, I think I might know." she announced, all of a sudden, after a long moment of reflection. "I heard of a few planets in the universe where our astral powers are completely nulled because of strong magnetic fields. Perhaps Bashia's latest reincarnation could have ended up on one of those planets."

The sulky red-head took a few seconds to think this new piece of information through, and as he finally figured it made sense, a ray of hope flashed across his face. 

"Oh great. Now I feel stupid. Why didn't I think of that before?"

Mikael pretended to be mad, though he knew very well that he would never have thought of that himself. In fact, he wouldn't have got anywhere by himself. He was thankful that Alexiel had helped him, but never in a thousand years would he ever admit that. He had his pride and reputation to maintain, after all. What would everybody else think if they knew that a mere woman had outsmarted him?

He snickered and raised, brushing a few blades of grass that stuck to his clothes with the back of his hand. The searches were now narrowed down to a dozen of small, half-deserted planets. He knew that it wouldn't be as easy as it first seemed to find Bashia's reincarnation there, even more so if he was to be stripped off all of his astral powers. But he was bound to give it a try, for his brother's sake. His mind was set: he'd leave as soon as possible.

"Alexiel?"

"Hm?" 

"Did you help me because you're in love with Lucifer?"

Unconsciously, the serene expression on her face turned into total panic.

"No! Why..? Of course not!" she laughed nervously, choking with her words. / What kind of a question is that? Of course not. /

"Just wondering..." he shrugged as he stood up and walked away, leaving a troubled Alexiel behind him. 


End file.
